Wireless technology bridging system

ABSTRACT

A bridged wireless communication system includes a user device that is configured to perform wireless communications natively using a second wireless technology, and a wireless technology bridging system chassis such as, for example, a user device case, coupled to the user device. The wireless technology bridging system chassis houses a first technology wireless controller that is configured to perform wireless communications using a first wireless technology that is different from the second wireless technology, and a second technology wireless controller that is configured to perform wireless communications using the second wireless technology. A bridging engine receives first wireless communications of the first wireless technology through the first technology wireless controller, converts the first wireless communications from the first wireless technology to the second wireless technology, and sends the first wireless communications of the second wireless technology through the second wireless technology controller and to the user device.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure generally relates to mobile payments and othermobile functionality, and more particularly to wireless technologybridging system that allows a user device to make mobile payment and/oruse other mobile functionality that requires a wireless technology thatis not natively supported by the user device.

2. Related Art

More and more consumers are purchasing items and services overelectronic networks such as, for example, the Internet. Consumersroutinely purchase products and services from merchants and individualsalike. The transactions may take place directly between a conventionalor on-line merchant or retailer and the consumer, and payment istypically made by entering credit card or other financial information.Transactions may also take place with the aid of an on-line or mobilepayment service provider such as, for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose,Calif. Such payment service providers can make transactions easier andsafer for the parties involved. Purchasing with the assistance of apayment service provider from the convenience of virtually anywhereusing a mobile device is one main reason why on-line and mobilepurchases are growing very quickly.

However, some user devices such as, for example, mobile phones, may belimited by the wireless technology provided natively in those userdevice, and those limitations may result in the inability to make amobile payment using a mobile payment system or utilize other mobilesystem functionality known in the art. For example, some mobile userdevices such as, for example, Android® mobile user devices availablefrom a variety of different manufacturers including Samsung ElectronicsCo. Ltd, of Suwon, South Korea, include Near Field Communication (NFC)wireless controllers in the mobile user device that allow for native NFCcommunications with other NFC devices such as, for example,Point-Of-Sale devices used in mobile payment systems to conduct paymenttransactions with a merchant. Other mobile user devices such as, forexample, iPhone® mobile user devices available from Apple Inc., ofCupertino, Calif., include Bluetooth® wireless controllers in the mobileuser device to allow for native Bluetooth® or Bluetooth® low energy(BLE) communications with other Bluetooth devices such as, for example,merchant location check-in devices used in mobile check-in systems thatallow a user to connect their mobile user device to a merchant device orother check-in system provider device.

However, because many mobile user devices only natively support one typeof wireless technology, those mobile user devices cannot function withsystems that use another type of wireless technology. Using the examplesprovided above, many iPhone® mobile user devices cannot use mobilepayment systems incorporating NFC wireless controllers, while manyAndroid® devices cannot use check-in systems incorporating Bluetooth®wireless controllers.

Thus, there is a need for an improved wireless communications system

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method forbridging wireless technologies;

FIG. 2 a is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesstechnology bridging system;

FIG. 2 b is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesstechnology bridging system;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of the wirelesstechnology bridging system of FIG. 2 a or 2 b coupled to a user device;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesstechnology bridging system;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a merchantphysical location;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a merchantphysical location;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a networkedsystem;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a userdevice;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a userdevice;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a userdevice;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a computersystem; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesstechnology bridging system.

Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are bestunderstood by referring to the detailed description that follows. Itshould be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identifylike elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, whereinshowings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of thepresent disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure describes systems and methods for bridgingwireless technologies such that a user device may communicate using awireless technology that is not native to that user device. In someembodiments, the user device includes a second technology wirelesscontroller (e.g., a Bluetooth® wireless controller) that is configuredto perform wireless communications using a second wireless technology(e.g., Bluetooth® wireless technology, a Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE)wireless technology, etc.), and thus the second wireless technology isnative to the user device. However, a wireless communication systemprovided by, for example, a merchant device in a merchant physicallocation, may be configured to perform wireless communications using afirst wireless technology (e.g., a Near Field Communications (NFC)wireless technology) for which a first wireless controller (e.g., an NFCwireless controller) is not included in the user device, and as such,the first wireless technology is not native to the user device. Thewireless technology bridging systems and methods described hereinprovide for wireless communication between the user device and thewireless communication system of the merchant device by including eachof a first technology wireless controller and a second technologywireless controller on a circuit board that is housed in a wirelesstechnology bridging system chassis (e.g., a user device case, anadhesive chassis, etc.) that is configured to be coupled to the userdevice.

In operation, the first technology wireless controller in the wirelesstechnology bridging system is used to receive first wirelesscommunications of the first wireless technology from the firsttechnology wireless controller in the wireless communication system ofthe merchant device, and a bridging engine in the wireless technologybridging system converts those first wireless communications from thefirst wireless technology to the second wireless technology. The secondtechnology wireless controller in the wireless technology bridgingsystem is then used to send the first wireless communications of thesecond wireless technology to the second technology wireless controllerin the user device. The user device then responds with second wirelesscommunications of the second wireless technology using the secondtechnology wireless controller in the user device, and the secondtechnology wireless controller in the wireless technology bridgingsystem is used to receive those second wireless communications. Thebridging engine in the wireless technology bridging system convertsthose second wireless communications from the second wireless technologyto the first wireless technology, and the first technology wirelesscontroller in the wireless technology bridging system is then used tosend the second wireless communications of the first wireless technologyto the first technology wireless controller in the wirelesscommunication system of the merchant device. As such, the user device isenabled to communicate with the wireless communication system of themerchant device despite the fact that each utilize a different wirelesstechnology.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a method 100 for bridgingwireless technologies is illustrated. In the embodiments discussedbelow, one or more merchant devices at a merchant physical locationoperate to provide a wireless communication system that utilizes a firstwireless technology, and the wireless technology bridging system of thepresent disclosure is used to enable communications between the wirelesscommunication system and a user device by bridging that first wirelesstechnology and a different, second wireless technology that is native tothe user device. However, the wireless communication system thatutilizes the first wireless technology may be operated by any wirelesssystem provider, and thus should not be limited to those operated bymerchants.

Furthermore, in some of the embodiments discussed below, the wirelesscommunication system that utilizes the first wireless technology isprovided, at least in part, to enable communication with a paymentservice provider such as, for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif.that provides various payment services that allow users to interact withmerchants using user devices and merchant devices, respectively. Forexample, the payment service provider may enable the user to “check-in”or otherwise indicate their presence at the merchant physical locationto, for example, access payment services, merchant information, and/orother check-in functionality known in the art. Furthermore, the paymentservice provider may enable payment transactions between the user deviceand the merchant device by receiving instructions from the user deviceto transfer funds from a user account of the user (e.g., provided by anaccount provider, the payment service provider, etc.) to a merchantaccount of the merchant (e.g., provided by an account provider, thepayment service provider, etc.) in order to make a purchase. However,these users of the wireless communication system are meant to be merelyexemplary, and one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that the wireless technology bridging systemmay be used for a wide variety of wireless communications scenarioswhile remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

The method 100 begins at block 100 where a wireless technology bridgingsystem is provided that includes a wireless technology bridging systemchassis that houses a bridging engine and bridging components. Referringfirst to FIG. 2 a, an embodiment of a wireless technology bridgingsystem 200 a is illustrated. In the illustrated embodiment, the wirelesstechnology bridging system 200 a includes a wireless technology bridgingsystem chassis 202 that houses a circuit board 204. As discussed infurther detail below, each of a non-transitory memory system and aprocessing system including one or more hardware processors may bemounted to the circuit board 204, and bridging instructions may beincluded on the non-transitory memory system that, when executed by theprocessing system, cause the processing system to provide a bridgingengine 206 that is configured to perform the functionality discussedbelow. In an embodiment, the bridging instructions may provide a mappingbetween one or more wireless communication services or characteristicsfor a wireless technology that is not native to a user device, andwireless communication services or characteristics for a wirelesstechnology that is native to the user device, along with one or morecommunication patterns required to complete one or more predefinedtransactions, discussed in further detail below.

The bridging engine 206 is coupled (e.g., by couplings on the circuitboard such as traces or other circuit board connectors known in the artthat are connected to the processing system) to a first technologywireless controller 208 that is mounted to the circuit board 204. Thefirst technology wireless controller 208 is configured to performwireless communications using a first wireless technology. In a firstset of embodiments discussed below, the first technology wirelesscontroller 208 is a Bluetooth® technology wireless controller that isconfigured to perform wireless communications using a Bluetooth wirelesstechnology. In specific examples of the first set of embodimentsdiscussed below, the Bluetooth® technology wireless controller isconfigured to perform wireless communications using Bluetooth® LowEnergy (BLE) wireless technology that provides for reduced powerconsumption and lower cost relative to traditional Bluetooth® wirelesstechnology, while maintaining the same communication range. In a secondset of embodiments discussed below, the first technology wirelesscontroller 208 is an NFC technology wireless controller that isconfigured to perform wireless communications using an NFC wirelesstechnology. However, while these two examples of wireless technologiesare provided in the examples discussed below, one of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure will recognize that a wide varietyof different technology wireless controllers, other than thoseexplicitly mentioned herein, that perform wireless communications usinga wide variety of different wireless technologies, may be used as thefirst technology wireless controller 208 without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

The bridging engine 206 is also coupled (e.g., by couplings on thecircuit board such as traces or other circuit board connectors known inthe art that are connected to the processing system) to a secondtechnology wireless controller 210 that is mounted to the circuit board204. The second technology wireless controller 210 is configured toperform wireless communications using a second wireless technology thatis different than the first wireless technology used by the firsttechnology wireless controller 208. In a first set of embodimentsdiscussed below, the second technology wireless controller 210 is an NFCtechnology wireless controller that is configured to perform wirelesscommunications using an NFC wireless technology. In a second set ofembodiments discussed below, the second technology wireless controller210 is a Bluetooth® technology wireless controller that is configured toperform wireless communications using a Bluetooth wireless technology.In specific examples of the second set of embodiments discussed below,the Bluetooth® technology wireless controller is configured to performwireless communications using BLE wireless technology. However, whilethese two examples of wireless technologies are provided in the examplesdiscussed below, one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that a wide variety of different technologywireless controllers, other than those explicitly mentioned herein, thatperform wireless communications using a wide variety of differentwireless technologies, may be used as the second technology wirelesscontroller 210 without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

In the illustrated embodiment, an antenna 212 is coupled to the firsttechnology wireless controller 208 and an antenna 214 is coupled to thesecond technology wireless controller 210, and each of the antennas 212and 214 are configured for use in sending and receiving wirelesscommunications through the first technology wireless controller 208 andthe second technology wireless controller 210, respectively. In oneexample, each of the antennas 212 and 214 may be coupled to the firsttechnology wireless controller 208 and the second technology wirelesscontroller 210, respectively, by being mounted to the circuit board 204and connected through traces or other circuit board connectors known inthe art. In another example, each of the antennas 212 and 214 may beincluded in the first technology wireless controller 208 and the secondtechnology wireless controller 210, respectively, and/or otherwisecoupled the first technology wireless controller 208 and the secondtechnology wireless controller 210 without be mounted to the circuitboard 204. While only one antenna is illustrated as being provided foreach of the first technology wireless controller 208 and the secondtechnology wireless controller 210, multiple antennas may be providedfor each of the first technology wireless controller 208 and the secondtechnology wireless controller 210 in, for example, a diversity antennascheme. Furthermore, a single antenna (or multiple antennas in, forexample, a diversity antenna scheme), may be shared by each of the firsttechnology wireless controller 208 and the second technology wirelesscontroller 210 while remaining within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Referring next to FIG. 2 b, an embodiment of a wireless technologybridging system 200 b is illustrated that is substantially similar tothe wireless technology bridging system 200 a, discussed above withreference to FIG. 2 a, but with the provision of additional wirelesscontrollers of different wireless technologies. As such, similarcomponents including the bridging engine 206, the first technologywireless controller 208, the second technology wireless controller 210,and the antennas 212 and 214 include similar reference numbers. However,the wireless technology bridging system 200 b includes the bridgingengine 206 coupled (e.g., by couplings on the circuit board such astraces or other circuit board connectors known in the art that areconnected to the processing system) to a third technology wirelesscontroller 216 and up to an nth technology wireless controller 218 thatare mounted to the circuit board 204. The third technology wirelesscontroller 216 is configured to perform wireless communications using athird wireless technology that is different from the first wirelesstechnology used by the first technology wireless controller 208 and thesecond wireless technology used by the second technology wirelesscontroller 210. For example, the third technology wireless controller216 may be a Wifi technology wireless controller that is configured toperform wireless communications using a Wifi wireless technology. Asillustrated in FIG. 2 b, a variety of different type technology wirelesscontrollers may be provided in the wireless technology bridging system200 b.

Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, an antenna 220 is coupled tothe third technology wireless controller 216, and antennas (e.g., theantenna 222) may be coupled to any other technology wireless controllers(e.g., the nth technology wireless controller 218) included in thewireless technology bridging system 200 b similarly as discussed abovewith reference to the wireless technology bridging system 200 a.Furthermore, as also discussed above with reference to the wirelesstechnology bridging system 200 a, any number of different technologywireless controllers in the wireless technology bridging system 200 bmay share any number of antennas.

While the wireless technology bridging systems 200 a and 200 b of FIGS.2 a and 2 b have been provided for clarity of discussion andillustration, other components, connections, and/or other features knownin the art may be provided on the circuit board 204 without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in someembodiments, the wireless technology bridging system 200 a or 200 b mayinclude a battery or power source connector (e.g., to connect to andreceive power from a user device) in order to power the wirelesstechnology bridging system 200 a or 200 b. In a specific example, apower source connector on the wireless technology bridging system thatconnects to a power source on the user device may allow for theconnection of a similar type connector to the power source connector sothat the wireless technology bridging system does not need to bedisconnected from the user device to, for example, charge the userdevice. Furthermore, while the bridging engine 206 (e.g., provided by anon-transitory memory and one or more hardware processors) and wirelesscontrollers 208, 210, 216, and 218 have been illustrated and describedas separate components, in some embodiments the bridging engine 206 andeach of the different technology wireless controllers may be provided onthe same hardware processor or combination of hardware processors whileremaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of a wireless technology bridgingsystem 300 coupled to a user device 302 is illustrated. The wirelesstechnology bridging system 300 may be, or include some or all of thecomponents of, the wireless technology bridging systems 200 a and/or 200b discussed above with reference to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b. In theillustrated embodiment, an adhesive 306 is used to couple the wirelesstechnology bridging system 300 to the user device 300.

In one example, the wireless technology bridging system chassis of thewireless technology bridging system 300 may be provided as a “sticker,”with the wireless technology bridging system chassis including aprotective covering that houses the circuit board and components of thewireless technology bridging system 300 (discussed above with referenceto FIGS. 2 a and 2 b). Examples of protective coverings that may providethe wireless technology bridging system chassis include a casing made ofa plastic material, a metal material, a rubber material, and/or avariety of other materials that one of skill in the art in possession ofthe present disclosure would recognize would protect the components ofthe wireless technology bridging system while allowing the functionalitydiscussed here and thus fall within the scope of the present disclosure.The adhesive 306 may be included on the wireless technology bridgingsystem chassis/protective covering (e.g., such that the wirelesstechnology bridging system is provided as a sticker to apply to a userdevice), on the chassis of the user device 302, and/or may be applied bya user to either of the wireless technology bridging systemchassis/protective covering or the chassis of the user device 302. Givencurrent components sizes, the wireless technology bridging system 300 isenvisioned as being dimensioned similar to a stick of gum, althoughlarger and smaller sizes of the wireless technology bridging system 300(e.g., based on reduced component sizes in the future) will fall withinthe scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a wireless technology bridgingsystem 400 is illustrated. The wireless technology bridging system 400may be, or include some or all of the components of, the wirelesstechnology bridging systems 200 a and/or 200 b discussed above withreference to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b. In the illustrated embodiment, thewireless technology bridging system 400 is provided as a user deviceprotective case.

In one example, the user device protective case of the wirelesstechnology bridging system 400 includes a device case chassis 402 thatdefines a user device housing 404 that is configured to house a userdevice, a camera aperture 406 defined by the device case chassis 402, amicrophone aperture 408 defined by the device case chassis 402, aspeaker aperture 410 defined by the device case chassis 402, and a dataand power connector aperture 412 defined by the device case chassis 402.In the illustrated embodiment, the circuit board 414 and components ofthe wireless technology bridging system 400 (discussed above withreference to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b) are embedded in the device case chassis402 (as illustrated by the dashed line in FIG. 4 indicating the locationof the circuit board 414). While one of skill in the art will recognizethe user device protective case illustrated in FIG. 4 as a protectivecase for a mobile phone, they will recognize that a wide variety ofcases for other types of user devices (e.g., tablet computers, laptopcomputers, etc.) will fall within the scope the present disclosure, aswill different locations of the circuit board (e.g., attached the userdevice case rather than embedded in the device case chassis 402).

While a few examples of wireless technology bridging systems have beenprovided that include an adhesive chassis that may be adhered to a userdevice, as well as a user device protective case that may house a userdevice, one of skill in the art will recognize that the wirelesstechnology bridging system described herein may be provided in a widevariety of other configurations while remaining within the scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, in some embodiments, the wirelesstechnology bridging system may be provided within a user device, or in amanner that it may be shared by a plurality of user device.

As discussed above, a user device of the user may provide secondwireless technology that is native to that user device due to theinclusion of a second technology wireless controller included in theuser device, but the user may wish to be able to utilize a firstwireless technology (or other wireless technology) that is differentfrom the second wireless technology but that is not native to the userdevice. In a first set of embodiments discussed below, the secondwireless controller in the user device includes an NFC wirelesscontroller that is configured to perform wireless communications usingan NFC wireless technology, and the user wishes to be able to utilize aBluetooth® wireless technology such as BLE wireless technology providedat a merchant physical location for participating in a check-in system.In a second set of embodiments discussed below, the second technologywireless controller in the user device is a Bluetooth® technologywireless controller that is configured to perform wirelesscommunications using a Bluetooth wireless technology, and the userwishes to be able to utilize an NFC wireless technology provided at amerchant physical location for participating in a payment system.However, as discussed above, the bridging of any different wirelesstechnologies may fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Thus,a block 102 of the method 100, a user may adhered the wirelesstechnology bridging system 300 to their user device 302, the user mayhouse their user device in the user device housing 404 of the wirelesstechnology bridging system 400, and/or may otherwise couple their userdevice to the wireless technology bridging system.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 a and/or 2 b, 5, and 6, the method 100 thenproceeds to block 104 where first wireless communications of a firstwireless technology are received by the bridging engine in the wirelesstechnology bridging system through the first wireless controller in thewireless technology bridging system.

Referring first to FIG. 5, a first set of embodiments of the method 100includes a merchant physical location 500 that may be a merchant “brickand mortar” store or other merchant place of business including aplurality of walls 502 that may define the merchant physical location500, along with an entrance 503 that provides users access to themerchant physical location 500. In the illustrated embodiment, themerchant at the merchant physical location 500 uses one or more merchantdevices to provide a wireless communication system that includes a firsttechnology wireless check-in beacon 504. The first technology wirelesscheck-in beacon 504 includes a first technology wireless controller thatis configured to perform wireless communications using a first wirelesstechnology that is different from the second wireless technology that isnative to a user device 506 (which may be any of the user devicesdiscussed above) of a user that has entered the merchant physicallocation 500 (e.g., through the entrance 503). The user device 506 hasbeen coupled to the wireless technology bridging system 200 a of FIG. 2a in block 102 of the method. While the wireless technology bridgingsystem 200 a of FIG. 2 a is discussed below with regard to theembodiments including FIG. 5, any of the wireless technology bridgingsystems discussed above may be substituted for the wireless technologybridging system 200 a while remaining within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

As discussed above, in one example of this first set of embodiments, thefirst wireless technology is a Bluetooth® wireless technology such as,for example, BLE wireless technology, and the first technology wirelesscontroller in the first technology wireless check-in beacon 504 is aBluetooth® wireless controller; the second technology wirelesscontroller in the user device 506 is an NFC wireless controller that isconfigured to perform wireless communications using an NFC wirelesstechnology; and the wireless technology bridging system 200 a includes aBluetooth® wireless controller as the first technology wirelesscontroller 208 and an NFC wireless controller as the second technologywireless controller 210.

At block 104 of the method 100, a user with the user device 506 coupledto the wireless technology bridging system 200 a may enter the merchantphysical location 500 through the entrance 503. In specific embodiments,the first technology wireless check-in beacon 504 may be broadcastingfirst wireless communications as check-in information using BLE wirelesstechnology. For example, the first technology wireless check-in beacon504 may broadcast check-in information that may include a merchantidentifier, a location, an advanced encryption standard (AES) key,and/or a variety of other check-in information known in the art, andthat check-in information may be recognizable by a check-in applicationon the user device 506 in the background of an operating system on theuser device 506. However, because the check-in information in the firstwireless communication is broadcast using the first wireless technology,the user device 506 is unable to receive that first wirelesscommunication directly (i.e., because the first wireless technology isnot supported natively by the user device 506 due to the lack of a firsttechnology wireless controller). However, at block 104, the bridgingengine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 a receives thefirst wireless communication from the first technology wireless check-inbeacon 504 through the first technology wireless controller 208 (e.g.,using the antenna 212.)

The table provided below lists a few examples of check-in informationthat may be included in the broadcast from the first technology wirelesscheck-in beacon at block 104 of the method 100:

Characteristic Example Value Permissions Store Name The Home Depot ROMerchant ID AAA9AA8AA7AA RO Location ID DTN2S9KZUM123 RO Timestamp1365528756 RO Beacon ID 235B2 RO, Notify Signature v1 RO, Notify Requestnil RW Response nil RO, Notify Event nil RO, Notify

Referring next to FIG. 6, a second set of embodiments of the method 100include a merchant physical location 600 that may be a merchant “brickand mortar” store or other merchant place of business including aplurality of walls 602 that may define the merchant physical location600, along with an entrance 603 that provides users access to themerchant physical location 600. In the illustrated embodiment, themerchant at the merchant physical location 600 uses one or more merchantdevices to provide a wireless communication system that includes a firsttechnology wireless Point Of Sale (POS) device 604 that includes a firsttechnology wireless controller that is configured to perform wirelesscommunications using a first wireless technology that is different fromthe second wireless technology that is native to a user device 606(which may be any of the user devices discussed above) that is coupledto the wireless technology bridging system 200 a of FIG. 2 a. While thewireless technology bridging system 200 a of FIG. 2 a is discussed belowas being used in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, any of thewireless technology bridging systems discussed herein may be substitutedfor the wireless technology bridging system 200 a while remaining withinthe scope of the present disclosure.

As discussed above, in one example of this second set of embodiments,the first wireless technology is an NFC wireless technology and thefirst technology wireless controller in the first technology wirelessPOS device 604 is an NFC wireless controller; the second technologywireless controller in the user device 506 is a Bluetooth® wirelesscontroller that performs wireless communications using Bluetooth®wireless technology; and the wireless technology bridging system 200 aincludes an NFC wireless controller as the first technology wirelesscontroller 208 and a Bluetooth® wireless controller as the secondtechnology wireless controller 210.

At block 104 of the method 100, a user with the user device 606 coupledto the wireless technology bridging system 200 a may have selected oneor more products and/or services available at the merchant physicallocation 600, and may then approach the first technology wireless POSdevice 604 to initiate a payment transaction with the merchant to payfor the one or more products and/or services. In one example, the firsttechnology wireless POS device 604 may operate as an NFC tag bybroadcasting an NFC signal that includes NDEF record information such asthat is recognizable by a payment application on the user device 606 tobegin a payment transaction when the user device 606 is positionedadjacent the first technology wireless POS device 604. However, becausethe payment information in the first wireless communication is broadcastusing the first wireless technology, the user device 506 is unable toreceive that first wireless communication directly when positionedadjacent the first technology wireless POS device 604 (i.e., because thefirst wireless technology is not supported natively by the user device506 due to the lack of a first technology wireless controller). However,at block 104, when the user device 606 is positioned adjacent the firsttechnology wireless POS device 604, the bridging engine 206 in thewireless technology bridging system 200 a will receive the firstwireless communication from the first technology wireless POS device 604through the first technology wireless controller 208 (e.g., using theantenna 212). In an embodiment, NDEF record information may include, forexample, 3-bit Type Name Format (TNF) information that indicates how tointerpret the variable length type field, Variable length typeinformation that describes the type of the record, variable length IDinformation that is a unique identifier for the record, variable lengthpayload information that is the actual data payload that is to be reador written, and/or a variety of other NDEF record information known inthe art.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 106 where the bridging engine inthe wireless technology bridging system converts the first wirelesscommunications of the first wireless technology to first wirelesscommunication of a second wireless technology (i.e., the first wirelesscommunications received at block 104 are converted from the firstwireless technology to the second wireless technology).

Referring back to the first set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 5,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 ahas received the first wireless communications of the Bluetooth®wireless technology (e.g., BLE wireless technology) from the firsttechnology wireless check-in beacon 504. As discussed above, the firstwireless communication of the BLE wireless technology includes check-ininformation that includes a merchant identifier, a location, an AES key,and/or a variety of other check-in information known in the art. Atblock 106, the bridging engine 206 may convert the first wirelesscommunication of the BLE wireless technology to first wirelesscommunication of the NFC wireless technology by writing the merchantidentifier, location, AES key, and/or other check-in information to anNFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) record. In some embodiments, that NDEFrecord may be stored in a database in a non-transitory memory mounted tothe circuit board 204.

Referring back to the second set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 6,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 ahas received the first wireless communications of the NFC wirelesstechnology from the first technology wireless POS device 604. Asdiscussed above, the first wireless communication of the NFC wirelesstechnology may include the NDEF record information discussed above. Atblock 106, the bridging engine 206 may convert the first wirelesscommunication of the NFC wireless technology to the first wirelesscommunication of the Bluetooth® wireless technology by writing the NDEFrecord information in a Bluetooth® format known in the art and intocorresponding and identified BLE characteristics. In some embodiments,that NDEF record information may be stored in a database in anon-transitory memory mounted to the circuit board 204.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 108 where the bridging engine 206sends the first wireless communications of the second wirelesstechnology through the second technology wireless controller on thewireless technology bridging system and to the second technologywireless controller in the user device. Thus, at block 108, the userdevice receives the first wireless communications of the second wirelesstechnology through its second technology wireless controller (that isincluded in the user device).

Referring back to the first set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 5,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 ahas converted the first wireless communications received from the firsttechnology wireless check-in beacon 504 from the BLE wireless technologyto the NFC wireless technology. As discussed above, the first wirelesscommunications of the NFC wireless technology may include an NDEF recordwith a merchant identifier, a location, an AES key, and/or othercheck-in information received from the first technology wirelesscheck-in beacon 504 in the first wireless communication of the BLEwireless technology.

In an embodiment of block 108, the bridging engine 204 causes the secondtechnology wireless controller 210 (an NFC wireless controller in thisembodiment) to begin emulating an NFC tag by causing it to be powered atpredetermined intervals such that the NDEF record is broadcast atpredetermined intervals. For example, at block 108, the bridging engine204 may cause the second technology/NFC wireless controller 210 to turnon and off at 1 second intervals in order to broadcast the NDEF record(e.g., the first wireless communications of the second/NFC wirelesstechnology) such that the operation of the second technology/NFCwireless controller 210 simulates the movement (“swiping”) of the userdevice 506 near an NFC payment system. At block 108, the user of theuser device 506 may turn on, unlock, or otherwise activate the userdevice 506, and in response the second technology/NFC wirelesscontroller in the user device will receive the first wirelesscommunications of the second/NFC wireless technology from the wirelesstechnology bridging system 200 a. One of skill in the art in possessionof the present disclosure will recognize that the emulation of an NFCtag by the second technology/NFC wireless controller 210 may providebenefits when, for example, the user device 506 does not support 2-wayNFC communication. However, in embodiments where the user device 506supports 2-way NFC communication, the first wireless communications ofthe second/NFC wireless technology from the second technology/NFCwireless controller 210 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 amay immediately provide for communication with the user device 506 suchthat the emulation of the NFC tag discussed above is not necessary andmay be omitted.

In an embodiment, the first technology wireless check-in beacon 504 is aBLE beacon device that may operate in the following manner. The BLEbeacon device may operate to periodically or continuously advertise aservice with a known Universally Unique Identifier (UUID). The bridgingengine 206 may operate to monitor for BLE signals (using the firsttechnology wireless controller 208) with the UUID. In one example,iPhone® devices allow UUIDs to be mapped to specific applications tohave those applications automatically launched when a registered UUID isdiscovered, while a similar feature (a “tag dispatch system”) isavailable on Android® devices to associate NFC tags with a particularapplication (e.g., an NDEF record with a known Uniform ResourceIdentifier (URI) that could be dispatched to an appropriately registeredapplication via an “ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED” Intent). Thus, in oneexample of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the bridging engine 206causes the NFC wireless controller 210 to emulate a read/write NFC tagof a URI type (packaged in an NDEF record on the virtual/emulated tag)known to be associated with an application on the user device. Bypowering the NFC emulation periodically (e.g., one or two secondspowered, one or two seconds powered off, etc.), it will appear to theuser device (with a native NFC wireless controller) that the user deviceis repeatedly touching an NFC tag. When the user device is unlocked, theoperating system will cause the application to become active and able totransact with the bridging engine 206, and through a protocol of writingto the emulated NFC tag (through the emulation of a read/write tag bythe bridging engine 206 and NFC wireless controller 210) to send data tothe bridging engine 206 and reading data from the emulated NFC tag whenit communicates, the user device can establish two-way communications tothe bridging engine 206, and thus through the bridging engine 206 to theBLE beacon device.

In an embodiment, the bridging between the first wireless technologycontroller 208 and the second wireless technology controller 210 may beaccomplished by the bridging engine 206 as follows: fields that aresimple strings (e.g., store name, merchant ID, etc.) may be mapped fromthe characteristic into an appropriately labeled or tagged NDEF record.The RW Request field and the fields marked as Notify (e.g., see thechart in para. [0041]) may be handled differently as they may requireaction on the user device communication side or the BLE beacon devicecommunication side. The application in the user device may write to theemulated NFC tag to set the Response value, and the state of the Notifyfields may be monitored.

In some embodiments, a special NDEF record may be added to facilitatecommunications by keeping track of where in the BLE beacon deviceinterchange the communication is, and to synchronize with the BLE beacondevice, the bridging engine 206, and the application in the user device.When the bridging engine 206 causes the emulation of the NFC tag, thespecial NDEF record may flag the payload to indicate state such as“waiting for the BLE beacon to respond”, “you have a notification totake care of”, “beacon is waiting for your response”, “beacon is nolonger detected”, etc.

In an embodiment, the bridging engine 206 is an active participant inall bridged communications, and will know when the application in theuser device has made a Request (as the bridging engine 206 is aread/write tag from the perspective of the application in the userdevice, and that application writes to the particular NDEF recordcorresponding to a Request). For example, the bridging engine 206actively monitors the NFC record for changes so that it can then passthat information over to the BLE beacon device by copying the Requestdata from the NDEF record into the RW Request characteristiccommunicated to the BLE beacon device. At each step, the bridging engine206 may cause the emulated tag to disappear and reappear (e.g., byenabling and disabling the transmitted output of the NFC wirelesscontroller 210) such that it appears to the user device that it is beingtouched to a sequence of unrelated NFC tags that happen to be associatedwith the same application in the user device that is identified by theknown URI mechanism described above. However, the application in theuser device may be complicit in this process in that the applicationunderstands that the tag information that is being received is notindependent but rather a sequence of requests and responses in thecontext of completing a check-in transaction, a purchase transaction,etc. While there are other methods for accomplishing NFC communicationwith the BLE beacon device beyond tag emulation, such as Android Beamand others, that will fall within the scope of the present disclosure,the emulation of a simple R/W tag as discussed above provides a methodthat is currently supported on most user devices and thus allows for thetransaction discussed above with a maximum number of user devices incurrent use.

Thus, blocks 104, 106, and 108 of the method 100 provide for a wirelesscommunication from the merchant using a wireless technology that is notnatively supported by the user device 506 to be received by the userdevice 506 using the wireless technology bridging system 200 a.

Referring back to the second set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 6,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 ahas converted the first wireless communications received from the firsttechnology wireless POS device 604 from the NFC wireless technology tothe Bluetooth® wireless technology. As discussed above, the firstwireless communication of the Bluetooth® wireless technology may includeNFC record information received from the first technology wireless POSdevice 604 in the first wireless communication of the NFC wirelesstechnology. At block 108, the bridging engine 204 causes the secondtechnology wireless controller 210 (a Bluetooth® wireless controller inthis embodiment) to send that information (e.g., the first wirelesscommunications of the second/Bluetooth® wireless technology) to the userdevice 606. Thus, a wireless communication from the merchant using awireless technology that is not natively supported by the user device606 is received by the user device 606 using the wireless technologybridging system 200 a.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 110 where the bridging engine 206receives a second wireless communication of the second wirelesstechnology through the second technology wireless controller on thewireless technology bridging system. Following the receiving of thefirst wireless communication of the second wireless technology at block108, the user device may send a second wireless communication of thesecond wireless technology using the second technology wirelesscontroller in the user device.

In one example using the first set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 5,the first wireless communications of the second wireless technologyreceived by the user device 506 may cause the user device 506 to displaya user interface to the user that allows the user to confirm that theywould like to check-in to the merchant physical location 500 (e.g.,“press OK to confirm you would like to check-in to merchant physicallocation 500”), and in response to such confirmation, the user device506 may use its second technology wireless controller to transmit secondwireless communications as an NDEF record (e.g., via a tag writeoperation). In another example using the second set of embodimentsillustrated in FIG. 6, the first wireless communications of the secondwireless technology received by the user device 606 may cause the userdevice 506 to activate and display a user interface to the user thatallows the user to begin a payment transaction with the merchantphysical location 500 (e.g., by including a payment transaction screenthat details products, prices, payment information, etc.), and inresponse the user providing selections (e.g., of a payment account, of apayment instructions, etc.), the user device 506 may use its secondtechnology wireless controller to transmit second wirelesscommunications.

Referring back to the first set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 5,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 areceives the second wireless communication of the second/NFC wirelesstechnology from the user device 506 through the second technology/NFCwireless controller 210 (e.g., using the antenna 214). The secondwireless communication of the NFC wireless technology sent from the userdevice 506 may include a user identifier, a communication that the userhas successfully checked in, a pre-authorized spending limit, a timelimit for the check-in expiration, special offers, coupons, and/or othercheck-in response information known in the art. At block 110, thebridging engine 204 receives the second wireless communication of thesecond/NFC wireless technology from the user device 506.

Referring back to the first set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 6,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 areceives the second wireless communication of the second/Bluetooth®wireless technology from the user device 606 through the secondtechnology/Bluetooth wireless controller 210 (e.g., using the antenna214). The second wireless communication of the Bluetooth wirelesstechnology sent from the user device 506 may include a user identifier,a store identifier, a register identifier, an amount of money to bepaid, and/or other payment response information known in the art. Atblock 110, the bridging engine 204 receives the second wirelesscommunication of the second/Bluetooth® wireless technology from the userdevice 506.

As is known in the art, there are size limits on the amount of data thatmay be written to a single characteristic, so sending a complete NDEFrecord from an NFC technology wireless controller to a BLE technologywireless controller may require multiple write cycles to push all thedata through the bridge system.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 112 where the bridging engine inthe wireless technology bridging system converts the second wirelesscommunications of the second wireless technology to second wirelesscommunication of the first wireless technology (i.e., the secondwireless communications received at block 110 are converted from thesecond wireless technology to the first wireless technology).

Referring back to the first set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 5,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 ahas received the second wireless communications of the NFC wirelesstechnology from the user device 506. As discussed above, the secondwireless communication of the NFC wireless technology might includecheck-in response information such as a user identifier, a communicationthat the user has successfully checked in, a pre-authorized spendinglimit, a time limit for the check-in expiration, special offers,coupons, and/or a variety of other check-in response information knownin the art. At block 112, the bridging engine 206 may convert the secondwireless communications of the NFC wireless technology to secondwireless communications of the BLE wireless technology by writing theuser identifier, a communication that the user has successfully checkedin, a pre-authorized spending limit, a time limit for the check-inexpiration, special offers, coupons, and/or other check-in responseinformation to a record. In some embodiments, that record may be storedin a database in a non-transitory memory mounted to the circuit board204.

Referring back to the second set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 6,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 ahas received the second wireless communications of the Bluetoothwireless technology from the user device 606. As discussed above, thesecond wireless communication of the Bluetooth wireless technologyincludes payment response information that includes a user identifier, astore identifier, a register identifier, an amount of money to be paid,and/or a variety of other payment response information known in the art.At block 112, the bridging engine 206 may convert the second wirelesscommunications of the Bluetooth wireless technology to the secondwireless communication of the NFC wireless technology by writing theuser identifier, a store identifier, a register identifier, an amount ofmoney to be paid, and/or other payment response information to a record.In some embodiments, that record may be stored in a database in anon-transitory memory mounted to the circuit board 204.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 114 where the bridging engine 206sends the second wireless communications of the first wirelesstechnology through the first technology wireless controller on thewireless technology bridging system and to a first technology wirelesscontroller in the wireless communication system provided by themerchant. Thus, at block 114, the wireless communication system providedby the merchant receives the second wireless communications of the firstwireless technology through a first technology wireless controller inthe wireless communication system.

Referring back to the first set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 5,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 ahas converted the second wireless communications of the NFC wirelesstechnology received from the user device 506 to the second wirelesscommunications of the first/BLE wireless technology. As discussed above,the second wireless communication of the first/BLE wireless technologymay include a record with a user identifier a communication that theuser has successfully checked in, a pre-authorized spending limit, atime limit for the check-in expiration, special offers, coupons, and/orother check-in response information received from the user device 506 inthe second wireless communication of the second/NFC wireless technology.At block 114, the bridging engine 204 causes the first technologywireless controller 208 (a BLE wireless controller in this embodiment)to broadcast the record. At block 114, the first technology wirelesscheck-in beacon 504 receives the second wireless communications of thefirst/BLE wireless technology from the wireless technology bridgingsystem 200 a through the first technology/BLE wireless controller in thefirst technology wireless check-in beacon 504. Thus, a wirelesscommunication from the user device 506 to the first technology wirelesscheck-in beacon 504 in the wireless communication system of the merchantusing a wireless technology that is not natively supported by the firsttechnology wireless check-in beacon 504 is received by the firsttechnology wireless check-in beacon 504 using the wireless technologybridging system 200 a.

Referring back to the second set of embodiments illustrated in FIG. 6,the bridging engine 206 in the wireless technology bridging system 200 ahas converted the second wireless communications of the Bluetooth®wireless technology received from the user device 506 to the secondwireless communications of the first/NFC wireless technology. Asdiscussed above, the second wireless communication of the first/NFCwireless technology may include a record with a user identifier a storeidentifier, a register identifier, an amount of money to be paid, and/orother payment response information received from the user device 506 inthe second wireless communication of the second/Bluetooth® wirelesstechnology. At block 114, the bridging engine 206 causes the firsttechnology wireless controller 208 (an NFC wireless controller in thisembodiment) to broadcast the record. At block 114, the first technologywireless POS device 604 receives the second wireless communications ofthe first/NFC wireless technology from the wireless technology bridgingsystem 200 a through the first technology/NFC wireless controller in thefirst technology wireless POS device 604. Thus, a wireless communicationfrom the user device to the first technology wireless POS device 604 inthe wireless communication system of the merchant using a wirelesstechnology that is not natively supported by the first technologywireless POS device 604 is received by the first technology wireless POSdevice 604 using the wireless technology bridging system 200 a.

While a first wireless communication from a wireless communicationsystem provided by a merchant to the user device, and a second wirelesscommunication from the user device back to the wireless communicationsystem provided by the merchant have been described, one of skill in theart in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that anynumber of communications back and forth between the wirelesscommunication system and the user device may be enabled using thewireless technology bridging system described herein.

Thus, systems and methods for bridging wireless technologies have beendescribed that allow devices that do not natively support wirelesscommunications using a particular wireless technology to communicatewith devices that utilize that particular wireless technology. Whileexamples including the bridging of wireless technologies to allow a userdevice that natively supports NFC wireless technology to communicatewith a merchant device that natively supports BLE wireless technology,as well as to allow a user device that natively supports Bluetooth®wireless technology to communicate with a merchant device that nativelysupports NFC wireless technology, have been provided, one of skill inthe art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that anywireless technologies may be bridged using the systems and methodsdescribed herein. Furthermore, the wireless technology bridging systemsdescribed herein may be provided for easy coupling to a user device thatutilizes them by, for example, providing those wireless technologybridging systems in a user device case with an adhesive chassis, and/orusing a variety of other coupling techniques known in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an embodiment of a network-based system 700 forimplementing one or more processes described herein is illustrated. Asshown, network-based system 700 may comprise or implement a plurality ofservers and/or software components that operate to perform variousmethodologies in accordance with the described embodiments. Exemplaryservers may include, for example, stand-alone and enterprise-classservers operating a server OS such as a MICROSOFT® OS, a UNIX® OS, aLINUX® OS, or other suitable server-based OS. It can be appreciated thatthe servers illustrated in FIG. 7 may be deployed in other ways and thatthe operations performed and/or the services provided by such serversmay be combined or separated for a given implementation and may beperformed by a greater number or fewer number of servers. One or moreservers may be operated and/or maintained by the same or differententities.

The embodiment of the networked system 700 illustrated in FIG. 7 includea user device 702, a wireless technology bridging system 703, a merchantdevice 704, a payment service provider device 706, an account providerdevice 708, and/or a first technology wireless communication device 710,a second technology wireless communication device 712, and up to an nthtechnology wireless communication device 714 in communication over anetwork 716. The user device 702 may be the user devices 302, 506,and/or 606, discussed above. The wireless technology bridging system 703may be the wireless technology bridging systems 200 a, 200 b, 300,and/or 400, discussed above. The merchant device 704 may be the merchantdevices discussed above and may be operated by the merchants discussedabove. The payment service provider device 706 may be the paymentservice provider devices discussed above and may be operated by apayment service provider such as, for example, PayPal Inc. of San Jose,Calif. The account provider device 708 may be the account providerdevices discussed above and may be operated by the account providersdiscussed above such as, for example, credit card account providers,bank account providers, savings account providers, and a variety ofother account providers known in the art. The first technology wirelesscommunication device 710, second technology wireless communicationdevice 712, and up to the nth technology wireless communication device714 may be the first technology wireless check-in beacon 504, the firsttechnology wireless POS device 604, and/or any of the other wirelesscommunication devices discussed above.

The user device 702, wireless technology bridging system 703, merchantdevice 704, payment service provider device 706, account provider device708, and/or different technology wireless communication devices 710-714may each include one or more processors, memories, and other appropriatecomponents for executing instructions such as program code and/or datastored on one or more computer readable mediums to implement the variousapplications, data, and steps described herein. For example, suchinstructions may be stored in one or more computer readable mediums suchas memories or data storage devices internal and/or external to variouscomponents of the system 700, and/or accessible over the network 716.

The network 716 may be implemented as a single network or a combinationof multiple networks. For example, in various embodiments, the network716 may include the Internet and/or one or more intranets, landlinenetworks, wireless networks, and/or other appropriate types of networks.

The user device 702 may be implemented using any appropriate combinationof hardware and/or software configured for wired and/or wirelesscommunication over network 716. For example, in one embodiment, the userdevice 702 may be implemented as a personal computer of a user incommunication with the Internet. In other embodiments, the user device702 may be a smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), laptopcomputer, tablet computer, wearable user device, and/or other types ofcomputing devices.

The user device 702 may include one or more browser applications whichmay be used, for example, to provide a convenient interface to permitthe user to browse information available over the network 716. Forexample, in one embodiment, the browser application may be implementedas a web browser configured to view information available over theInternet.

The user device 702 may also include one or more toolbar applicationswhich may be used, for example, to provide user-side processing forperforming desired tasks in response to operations selected by the user.In one embodiment, the toolbar application may display a user interfacein connection with the browser application.

The user device 702 may further include other applications as may bedesired in particular embodiments to provide desired features to theuser device 702. In particular, the other applications may include apayment application for payments assisted by a payment service providerthrough the payment service provider device 706. The other applicationsmay also include security applications for implementing user-sidesecurity features, programmatic user applications for interfacing withappropriate application programming interfaces (APIs) over the network716, or other types of applications. Email and/or text applications mayalso be included, which allow the user to send and receive emails and/ortext messages through the network 716. The user device 702 includes oneor more user and/or device identifiers which may be implemented, forexample, as operating system registry entries, cookies associated withthe browser application, identifiers associated with hardware of theuser device 702, or other appropriate identifiers, such as a phonenumber. In one embodiment, the user identifier may be used by thepayment service provider device 706 and/or account provider device 708to associate the user with a particular account as further describedherein.

The merchant device 704 may be maintained, for example, by aconventional or on-line merchant, conventional or digital goods seller,individual seller, and/or application developer offering variousproducts and/or services in exchange for payment to be receivedconventionally or over the network 716. In this regard, the merchantdevice 704 may include a database identifying available products and/orservices (e.g., collectively referred to as items) which may be madeavailable for viewing and purchase by the user.

The merchant device 704 also includes a checkout application which maybe configured to facilitate the purchase by the payer of items. Thecheckout application may be configured to accept payment informationfrom the user through the user device 702, the wireless technologybridging system 703, the payment service provider device 706, theaccount provider device 708, and/or the different technology wirelesscommunication devices 710-714 over the network 716.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an embodiment of a user device 800 isillustrated. The user device 700 may be the user devices 302, 506, 606,and/or 702. The user device 800 includes a chassis 802 having a display804 and an input device including the display 804 and a plurality ofinput buttons 806. One of skill in the art will recognize that the userdevice 800 is a portable or mobile phone including a touch screen inputdevice and a plurality of input buttons that allow the functionalitydiscussed above with reference to the method 100. However, a variety ofother portable/mobile payer devices and/or desktop payer devices may beused in the method 100 without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an embodiment of a user device 900 isillustrated. The user device 900 may be the may be the user devices 302,506, 606, and/or 702, discussed above. The user device 900 includes aframe 902 having a computing chassis 904 that extends from the frame902, a display 906 that extends from the computing chassis 904, amicrophone 908 located on the computing chassis 904, and a cameralocated on the computing chassis 904. One of skill in the art willrecognize that the user device 900 is a mobile wearable user device suchas, for example, Google Glass® available from Google Inc. of MountainView, Calif. that may provide a user with some of the functionalitydiscussed above with reference to the method 100. However, a variety ofother mobile wearable user devices may be used in the method 100 withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 10, an embodiment of a user device 1000 isillustrated. The user device 700 may be the user devices 302, 506, 606,and/or 702. The user device 1000 includes a chassis 1002 having adisplay 1004 and an input device including the display 1004 and an inputbutton 1006. One of skill in the art will recognize that the user device1000 is a tablet computer including a touch screen input device andinput button that allow the functionality discussed above with referenceto the method 100. However, a variety of other tablet devices may beused in the method 100 without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 11, an embodiment of a computer system 800suitable for implementing, for example, the user devices 302, 506, 606,702, 800, 900, and/or 1000, the wireless technology bridging systems 200a, 200 b, 300, 400, and/or 703, the merchant device 704, the paymentservice provider device 706, the account provider device 708, and/or thedifferent technology wireless communication devices 710-714, isillustrated. It should be appreciated that other devices utilized byusers, merchants, payment service providers, and account providers inthe payment system discussed above may be implemented as the computersystem 1100 in a manner as follows.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure,computer system 1100, such as a computer and/or a network server,includes a bus 1102 or other communication mechanism for communicatinginformation, which interconnects subsystems and components, such as aprocessing component 1104 (e.g., processor, micro-controller, digitalsignal processor (DSP), etc.), a system memory component 1106 (e.g.,RAM), a static storage component 1108 (e.g., ROM), a disk drivecomponent 1110 (e.g., magnetic or optical), a network interfacecomponent 1112 (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), a display component 1114(e.g., CRT or LCD), an input component 1118 (e.g., keyboard, keypad, orvirtual keyboard), a cursor control component 1120 (e.g., mouse,pointer, or trackball), a location determination component 1122 (e.g., aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) device as illustrated, a cell towertriangulation device, and/or a variety of other location determinationdevices known in the art), and/or a camera component 1123. In oneimplementation, the disk drive component 1110 may comprise a databasehaving one or more disk drive components.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the computersystem 1100 performs specific operations by the processor 1104 executingone or more sequences of instructions contained in the memory component1106, such as described herein with respect to the user devices 302,506, 606, 702, 800, 900, and/or 1000, the wireless technology bridgingsystems 200 a, 200 b, 300, 400, and/or 703, the merchant device 704, thepayment service provider device 706, the account provider device 708,and/or the different technology wireless communication devices 710-714.Such instructions may be read into the system memory component 1106 fromanother computer readable medium, such as the static storage component1108 or the disk drive component 1110. In other embodiments, hard-wiredcircuitry may be used in place of or in combination with softwareinstructions to implement the present disclosure.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer toany medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor1104 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.In one embodiment, the computer readable medium is non-transitory. Invarious implementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magneticdisks, such as the disk drive component 1110, volatile media includesdynamic memory, such as the system memory component 1106, andtransmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiberoptics, including wires that comprise the bus 1102. In one example,transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such asthose generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example,floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted to read. In oneembodiment, the computer readable media is non-transitory.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution ofinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may beperformed by the computer system 1100. In various other embodiments ofthe present disclosure, a plurality of the computer systems 1100 coupledby a communication link 1124 to the network 610 (e.g., such as a LAN,WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, includingtelecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may performinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordinationwith one another.

The computer system 1100 may transmit and receive messages, data,information and instructions, including one or more programs (i.e.,application code) through the communication link 1124 and the networkinterface component 1112. The network interface component 1112 mayinclude an antenna, either separate or integrated, to enabletransmission and reception via the communication link 1124. Receivedprogram code may be executed by processor 1104 as received and/or storedin disk drive component 1110 or some other non-volatile storagecomponent for execution.

Referring now to FIGS. 12, an embodiment of a wireless technologybridging system 1200 is illustrated. In an embodiment, the wirelesstechnology bridging system 1200 may be the wireless technology bridgingsystems 200 a, 200 b, 300, 400, and/or 703. The wireless technologybridging system 1200 includes a communication engine 1202 that iscoupled to the network 716 and to a bridging engine 1204 that is coupledto a wireless technology conversion database 1206 that may includedetails for converting wireless communications between differentwireless technologies, described above. The communication engine 1202may be software or instructions stored on a computer-readable mediumthat allows the wireless technology bridging system 1200 to send andreceive information over the network 716. The bridging engine 1204 maybe software or instructions stored on a computer-readable medium that isoperable to receive wireless communications of a particular wirelesstechnology from a first device, convert those wireless communications toa different wireless technology, send those converted wirelesscommunications to a second device, and provide any of the otherfunctionality that is discussed above. While the wireless technologyconversion database 1206 has been illustrated as located in the wirelesstechnology bridging system 1200, one of skill in the art will recognizethat it may be connected to the bridging engine 1204 through the network716 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as programcode and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readablemediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may beimplemented using one or more general purpose or specific purposecomputers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Whereapplicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. For example, the aboveembodiments have focused on merchants and users; however, a user orconsumer can pay, or otherwise interact with any type of recipient,including charities and individuals. The payment does not have toinvolve a purchase, but may be a loan, a charitable contribution, agift, etc. Thus, merchant as used herein can also include charities,individuals, and any other entity or person receiving a payment from auser. Having thus described embodiments of the present disclosure,persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may bemade in form and detail without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless technology bridging system,comprising: a circuit board; a first technology wireless controllermounted to the circuit board and configured to perform wirelesscommunications using a first wireless technology; a second technologywireless controller mounted to the circuit board and configured toperform wireless communications using a second wireless technology thatis different than the first wireless technology; a non-transitory memorystoring bridging instructions for converting wireless communicationinformation between the first wireless technology and the secondwireless technology; one or more hardware processors coupled to each ofthe memory, the first technology wireless controller, and the secondtechnology wireless controller, wherein the one or more hardwareprocessors are configured to read instructions from the memory toprovide a bridging engine that performs the steps of: receiving firstwireless communications of the first wireless technology through thefirst technology wireless controller; converting the first wirelesscommunications from the first wireless technology to the second wirelesstechnology; and sending the first wireless communications of the secondwireless technology through the second wireless technology controllerand to a user device.
 2. The wireless technology bridging system ofclaim 1, further comprising: at least one antenna coupled to each of thefirst wireless technology controller and the second wireless technologycontroller, wherein the at least one antenna is configured for use insending and receiving wireless communications through the first wirelesstechnology controller and the second wireless technology controller. 3.The wireless technology bridging system of claim 1, wherein one or morehardware processors are configured to read instructions from the memoryto provide a bridging engine that further performs the steps of:receiving second wireless communications of the second wirelesstechnology through the second technology wireless controller and fromthe user device; converting the second wireless communications from thesecond wireless technology to the first wireless technology; and sendingthe second wireless communications of the first wireless technologythrough the first wireless technology controller.
 4. The wirelesstechnology bridging system of claim 1, further comprising: a chassisthat houses each of the circuit board, the first technology wirelesscontroller, the second technology wireless controller, thenon-transitory memory, and the one or more hardware processors, whereinthe chassis is one of a user device case that is configured to house theuser device, or an adhesive chassis that is configured to adhere to theuser device.
 5. The wireless technology bridging system of claim 1,wherein the first wireless technology controller is a Bluetooth wirelesscontroller and the first wireless technology is a Bluetooth wirelesstechnology, and wherein the second wireless technology controller is aNear Field Communication (NFC) wireless controller and the secondwireless technology is an NFC wireless technology.
 6. The system ofclaim 5, wherein the bridging engine converting the first wirelesscommunications from the Bluetooth wireless technology to the NFCwireless technology, and sending the first wireless communications ofthe NFC wireless technology through the NFC wireless technologycontroller and to the user device, includes: writing the first wirelesscommunications of the Bluetooth wireless technology as an NFC DataExchange Format (NDEF) record; and causing the NFC wireless controllerto emulate an NFC tag by causing the NFC wireless controller to bepowered at predetermined intervals.
 7. A bridged wireless communicationsystem, comprising: a user device housing a user device wirelesscontroller that is configured to perform wireless communications using asecond wireless technology; a wireless technology bridging systemchassis coupled to the user device, the wireless technology bridgingsystem chassis housing: a circuit board; a first technology wirelesscontroller mounted to the circuit board and configured to performwireless communications using a first wireless technology that isdifferent from the second wireless technology; a second technologywireless controller mounted to the circuit board and configured toperform wireless communications using the second wireless technology;and a bridging engine coupled to each of the first technology wirelesscontroller and the second technology wireless controller, wherein thebridging engine is configured to perform the steps of: receiving firstwireless communications of the first wireless technology through thefirst technology wireless controller; converting the first wirelesscommunications from the first wireless technology to the second wirelesstechnology; and sending the first wireless communications of the secondwireless technology through the second wireless technology controllerand to the user device wireless controller in the user device.
 8. Thebridged wireless communication system of claim 7, wherein the wirelesstechnology bridging system chassis further houses: at least one antennacoupled to each of the first wireless technology controller and thesecond wireless technology controller, wherein the at least one antennais configured for use in sending and receiving wireless communicationsthrough the first wireless technology controller and the second wirelesstechnology controller.
 9. The bridged wireless communication system ofclaim 7, wherein the bridging engine is configured to further performthe steps of: receiving second wireless communications of the secondwireless technology through the second technology wireless controllerand from the user device wireless controller in the user device;converting the second wireless communications from the second wirelesstechnology to the first wireless technology; and sending the secondwireless communications of the first wireless technology through thefirst wireless technology controller.
 10. The bridged wirelesscommunication system of claim 7, wherein the wireless technologybridging system chassis is a user device case that houses the userdevice.
 11. The bridged wireless communication system of claim 7,wherein the wireless technology bridging system chassis is an adhesivechassis that is adhered to the user device.
 12. The bridged wirelesscommunication system of claim 7, wherein the first wireless technologycontroller is a Bluetooth wireless controller and the first wirelesstechnology is a Bluetooth wireless technology, and wherein the secondwireless technology controller is a Near Field Communication (NFC)wireless controller and the second wireless technology is an NFCwireless technology.
 13. The bridged wireless communication system ofclaim 12, wherein the bridging engine converting the first wirelesscommunications from the Bluetooth wireless technology to the NFCwireless technology, and sending the first wireless communications ofthe NFC wireless technology through the NFC wireless technologycontroller and to the user device, includes: writing the first wirelesscommunications of the Bluetooth wireless technology as an NFC DataExchange Format (NDEF) record; and causing the NFC wireless controllerto emulate an NFC tag by causing the NFC wireless controller to bepowered at predetermined intervals.
 14. A method for bridging wirelesstechnologies, comprising: providing a wireless technology bridgingsystem chassis that houses a circuit board including a non-transitorymemory and at least one processor that are configured to provide abridging engine; receiving, by the bridging engine, first wirelesscommunications of a first wireless technology through a first technologywireless controller that is mounted to the circuit board; converting,using the bridging engine, the first wireless communications from thefirst wireless technology to a second wireless technology that isdifferent from the first wireless technology; and sending, by thebridging engine to a user device, the first wireless communications ofthe second wireless technology through a second wireless technologycontroller that is mounted to the circuit board.
 15. The method of claim14, wherein the receiving the first wireless communications of the firstwireless technology through the first technology wireless controllerincludes receiving the first wireless communications of the firstwireless technology through at least one antenna that is coupled to thefirst wireless technology controller, and the sending the first wirelesscommunications of the second wireless technology through the secondwireless technology controller includes sending the first wirelesscommunications of the second wireless technology through at least oneantenna that is coupled to the second wireless technology controller.16. The method of claim 14 further comprising: receiving, by thebridging engine, second wireless communications of the second wirelesstechnology through the second technology wireless controller and fromthe user device; converting, using the bridging engine, the secondwireless communications from the second wireless technology to the firstwireless technology; and sending, by the bridging engine, the secondwireless communications of the first wireless technology through thefirst wireless technology controller.
 17. The method of claim 14,wherein the wireless technology bridging system chassis is a user devicecase that houses the user device.
 18. The method of claim 14, whereinthe wireless technology bridging system chassis is an adhesive chassisthat is adhered to the user device.
 19. The method of claim 14, whereinthe first wireless technology controller is a Bluetooth wirelesscontroller and the first wireless technology is a Bluetooth wirelesstechnology, and wherein the second wireless technology controller is aNear Field Communication (NFC) wireless controller and the secondwireless technology is an NFC wireless technology.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the bridging engine converting the first wirelesscommunications from the Bluetooth wireless technology to the NFCwireless technology, and sending the first wireless communications ofthe NFC wireless technology through the NFC wireless technologycontroller and to the user device, includes: writing the first wirelesscommunications of the Bluetooth wireless technology as an NFC DataExchange Format (NDEF) record; and causing the NFC wireless controllerto emulate an NFC tag by causing the NFC wireless controller to bepowered at predetermined intervals.